Read: John 17:13-19
Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. (vv. 17-18)
What a privilege to get to listen to this divine conversation in John 17, the only one like it in Scripture. Jesus asks his Father that his disciples have joy (v. 13), the truth of his word (v. 14), protection (v. 15), and sanctification (v. 17). The Greek word for “sanctify” is hagiazō, which means several things: “to separate, consecrate, honor as holy, purify, or set apart.” We have been sent into the world with God’s word as our guiding truth. It feels both humbling and honoring to be prayed for in this way.
The phrases that reverberate in my mind as I read this prayer is “in the world” (v. 11) but “not of the world” (vv. 14-16). The way we live among fellow citizens of our communities, churches, and families should reveal several priorities. Is our main concern that God be glorified above all? Jesus did this by obeying his Father. Is our focus on the well-being of other believers? Jesus lived a life of compassionate and loving service. Do we have concern for the world’s needs? Jesus’s mission was to restore mankind to a right relationship with God, and he sends us into the world to do the same. It’s a holy and humbling honor to be set apart, but it’s for the purpose of serving and loving as selflessly as Jesus did.
As you pray, ask Jesus to help you live as one set apart from the world in order to serve those in the world.
About the Author
Denise Vredevoogd
Denise Vredevoogd is a private piano teacher who lives near Grand Rapids, Michigan. She enjoys reading, writing, gardening, and spending time in nature with her adult sons and daughters.
